So I Lied! #3 – September 4, 1984 - The Whining Kent Pigs

#26 Expletive Deleted Go Ronnie!***Yup, -----------------------------------------------------------------------this is it; EXPLETIVE DELETED, the only subxyn to boycott the1984 Summer Olympics! This is the ECC's bastion inside of "the mostwretched hive of scum and villiany", also known as So I Lied! the xyndedicated to MadLads. Can I get away with saying that word in their ownxyn? If not, Puppy sent a thug after me. To see if I!m still alive, callme at (212) 976-2727. Or drop me a line at: PO Box 1324; SUNY Binghamton,NY 13760.An ED-torialWinning is Everything?***For several months, I have wanted to share an incident which occured early thissummer in out family. Some of this I apologize for;I don't want to bore you with asob story, but all this should tie in nicely with my theme of "winning".***Weightlifting is a new hobby of mine, but my brother John has been lifting for manyyears. He used to be a skinny beanpole, and a burnout in his highschool years (ie: hegot involved with some wrong numbers and some 'substances' which didn't help any).He got a degree, a wife and his weightlifting hobby has helped him lead a happier life.***This June, the Binghamton area had its first Southern Tier Bodybuilding competitions,and my brother had decieded to enter. Some of his friends from local health clubs (ie:Pumphouse, Body Image; sort of like Jack LaLane for those of you in the big cities) hadparticipated in events such as this before in Rochester, and encouraged him to give ita try. Our family went to see this event, and although my brother tried hard, he didn'twin any awards or trophies. I didn't know what to tell my brother afterwards, but triedto give some support.***My father had become upset over this. John was able to accept defeat, and mentionedthat this experience had taught him much; perhaps next time he could be better prepared?Dad went out and got drunk. We live out in the country a ways, so any drive back afterdrinking is potentially dangerous.***One must understand the significance of the ' defeat' being in that of weight-training.Losing a game is a blow to ones ego. Losing a talent contest is a worse blow. Bodybuildingis even more sensative . Anybody that has ever weightlifted before knows what I am referingto. When you go to work out in one of these joints , there are many musclebound types thathave been doing this for many years . Joe Shmoe Novice goes in for a week and never returnsbecause his ego gets beat up. When you notice you can't lift half as much as the otherguys are , despair sets in quickly. The message that your body is inferior is one that hasmany complications . Anybody sticking with weightlifting for more than a year deserves apat on the back. In my book , they are all winners.***My father's sour grapes reaction has caused something inside me to stir. Oh, its notjust Dad, but many people. Why is 'winning' so damn important to so many people? I feela majority of the people feel the same way I do, but the minorities are the ones whichare the loudest voices, which in turn make others feel insecure in their positions towardswinning. Or drugs. Or cheating on tests. Or any other topic.***The whole point of all my ranting here is to make the voices of the average be heard.It's "OK" not to win , or to drink . It's also "OK " not to drink . People should keep intouch with their feelings , and if they feel good about themselves , go full steam ahead andignore complaints from the outsiders . Winning is nice , but its not the only thing. Johnhas gone a long way from his teen years , and that ' ll say a lot more than any trophy evercould. o t